I laugh once.
“You’ve done your homework.”
“For years.”
The words land like a stone.
Years.
“You’ve been watching me that long?”
“Not just you.”
My stomach tightens slightly.
“Who else?”
He smiles again.
“Now that would ruin the surprise.”
I step closer.
“You know what the problem is with recruiting people like me?”
“What’s that?”
“We don’t stay controlled very well.”
Eli studies me calmly.
“We’re counting on that.”
That answer stops me cold.
Because it means something very specific.
They don’t want soldiers.
They wantleaders.
“Think about it,” he says.
“We’re not enemies, Boone.”
I hold his gaze.
“Maybe not yet.”
He chuckles quietly.
“Well.”
He steps back toward the sanctuary door.
“Let’s see how things develop.”
Then he pauses.
